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Introduction

The end of each of the two world wars was met with a complex mix of emotions across Britain. Relief, joy and celebration combined with grief for those who had lost loved ones. Peacetime offered opportunities to build a brighter future.

London’s transport companies remembered lost friends and colleagues, commemorated their wartime contribution and got on with the business of moving people around the city.

In the decades after the First World War, London’s transport network expanded, contributing to the wider growth of the city. After the Second World War, years of major bomb damage had to be repaired, money was tight, and challenges lay ahead. But they could at least be faced in the context of peace.

Celebration

The aftermath of both world wars was met with a range of celebrations. London became the focus of spontaneous mass parties after an armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, marking the beginning of the end of the First World War. Likewise, central London became the backdrop to mass celebrations on 8 May and 15 August 1945, marking Allied victory in Europe and in the Far East respectively.

Many official events were organised, reflecting the scale of both war efforts. It also took many months for troops to be demobilised and return home. The contributions of London’s transport staff, both in serving in the armed forces and keeping the city moving, were well represented.

On 30 June 1919, London’s transport staff attended a victory event at the Albert Hall, including the return of Underground Group staff who had been wounded in the armed forces.

Nearly two million people watched on as a Victory Parade was held in central London on 8 June 1946, which featured two RT type London buses still kitted out for the blackout.

Remembrance

The magnitude of both world wars led to memorialisation on a national, regional, local and often company level. This was typified by the Armistice Day parade, centring on the Cenotaph in Whitehall, that began in the wake of the First World War and has become an annual event ever since. The significant contribution of London’s transport was embodied by the presence of a B type bus nicknamed ‘Ole Bill’ that had served on the Western Front, which attended the parade for nearly 50 years. Today, Transport for London is one of very few civilian organisations that continues to participate.

London’s transport also commemorated the impact of both world wars on its network and within its offices. Few departments were untouched by the two world wars, with memorials and plaques displayed in stations, garages and offices. Some commemorated London’s transport staff who had lost their lives in the armed forces, while others marked deaths that had occurred on duty in London.

Rebuilding

While the end of two huge conflicts was a source of relief and celebration, peacetime brought its own challenges. London’s transport had to face these, while helping the city to function at the same time.

After the First World War, London continued to expand at a rapid rate. The post-war years saw a growing expanse of suburbs around London, including the ‘Metro-land’ of north-west London and nearby Buckinghamshire that was promoted by the Metropolitan Railway, which through a subsidiary developed property on the land adjoining its lines. This poster from 1922 is typical in promoting an idyllic vision of parts of outer north-west London served by the District Railway. Its designer, Harold Sandys Williamson, had fought and been wounded on the Western Front in the First World War.

The situation after the Second World War was particularly challenging, with London Transport having to contend with a heavily damaged network and a fleet of exhausted vehicles. This Fred Taylor poster from 1945, one of four under the title ‘Rehabilitation’, was symbolic of the time in emphasising public patience with repairs and the continuing austerity.

London Transport infrastructure projects had been interrupted by the outbreak of war in 1939. With finances tight in post-war Britain, not all were resumed. A planned expansion of the Northern line north of Edgware was abandoned. But the unfinished eastern and western extensions of the Central line were completed in stages between 1946 and 1949, with this Tom Eckersley poster marking the completion of the penultimate stage.

Many of the stories and objects here can be seen within the London’s transport at war gallery at the Museum.

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